Two schools. One says that there is something about football crowds that brings out the worst in them and the players: the testosterone; the tribalism. And we have addressed the phenomenon in the past of kneejerk racism: that affliction that means otherwise decent people, folk who might strike up a friendly chat at the bus stop, say horrendous things when the blood is up and the pressure is on. Throw in the tension and the testosterone and the tribalism and perhaps that's why things get ugly.

But there is another view. It says it's not anything particular to football. It's football as a mirror. Football attracting a cross section and shining a light on the dark side of life as we live it. No distortion, no refraction; just what's beneath brought to light. The former is easier to stomach than the latter.

We've heard about the outrages involving big stars in big stadiums, but in the background there has been an interesting case in Grimsby. A diehard fan, a mother of three called Karen Stevens, hurled racist abuse in March at Aswad Thomas, a black defender then plying his trade for Essex side Braintree. She was charged, but the wheels of justice wind slowly. In the interim, Thomas signed for her team, Grimsby.

This meant that by the time the case reached court, she was able to proclaim that she had met the player, made peace with the club and, that by reaching private consensus, had rendered any further state involvement uneccessary. "The player is all right about it," she told the Grimsby Telegraph as the legal reckoning approached. "He tweets me all the time." But this wasn't how Thomas saw things, or Grimsby Town for that matter. Come the big day, having admitted a racially aggravated public order offence, Stevens was sentenced to 200 hours' community service and banned from watching football, Grimsby or England, for three years. I've said sorry, I've sorted it out, she said. But this was to profoundly misunderstand her position. She offended Thomas and that was bad enough, but her offence was a crime against society. It wasn't for him to wish away even had he wanted to. Sorry can be too little too late.